Summer and tea: how to turn classic blends into cool, refined drinks

When the days get hot, we all feel the need for a good refreshing drink… and suddenly tea becomes a great ally in summer time!

Both hot and iced. Think about it. In very hot countries, tea is enjoyed hot, but in the western countries we love it iced. And here at Babingtons, in the temple of tea, we prepare iced tea in the best possible way, with high quality loose tea leaves and no colorants, preservatives or sweeteners.

In fact all Babingtons iced teas are 100% natural. Made by simply brewing our black, green or herbal Iced Tea blends and adding fresh fruit, spices, mint leaves we serve them with liquid sugar on the side, so you can decide how sweet you like your tea (we always suggest no sugar!).

Iced Tea benefits are many. Don’t forget that tea does not lose its health benefits when served below zero. Polyphenols, antioxidants, minerals, caffeine and fluorides present in the tea leaves still benefit us when served iced. And, if you don’t use any sweetener, iced tea is a perfect summer drink, refreshing and 100% natural.

This is why we suggest you prepare it at home. Choose you tea leaves, brew and dress as you like.

How to make the perfect iced tea? It’s really much easier than you think. If you are using a black or herbal tea, the best way is by brewing your tea normally, with 95° hot water. If on the other hand you want to use a green or white tea, we suggest using room temperature water, to keep the iced tea clear and transparent (if the infusion is not transparent, don’t worry, the tea is good anyway, it just doesn’t look so good).

Here are our suggestions for making Iced Teas:

Hot Method

Ideal for black teas and herbal teas

Bring a liter of fresh water to 90/95° C and infuse 18/20 gr of tea for 3-4 minutes. Filter the tea, leave it to cool down and put it in the fridge. Before serving put 2-3 ice cubes in a glass, poor the iced tea over them and add the flavors you prefer (sugar, fresh fruit, spices, milk,….).

Cold method

Ideal for green and white teas

Infuse 12/15 gr of tea in room temperature water for 4-6 hours. Strain the tea and keep in the fridge. Before serving put 2-3 ice cubes in a glass, poor the iced tea over them and add the flavors you prefer (sugar, fresh fruit, spices, mint leaves…).

On the rocks

Ideal with all teas

This method is used to prepare a last-minute iced tea.

Infuse a strong hot tea (50% more tea leaves) following the timing suggested for your tea, add all the flavors you like and pour into a glass full to the brim (and over) with ice cubes. Enjoy!

In our iced tea’s selection you will find black teas, green teas and a herbal tea, with no caffeine.
Let us start with the black teas: The Babingtons Breakfast Special, the Sunny Peach and the Red Rhubarb.

Babingtons Breakfast Special is a traditional blend of black teas, which you can enjoy with lemon or other citruses, slices of freshly cut fruit, spices and herbs.
Our Sunny Peach is a black Ceylon tea delicately scented with 100% natural peach and fruit.

The last black tea in our summer iced tea selection is Babingtons Red Rhubarb, a black Darjeeling tea scented naturally with rhubarb, famous for its health benefits and for being so thirst quenching!

We then have our two green iced teas: the Cherry Rose and the Moroccan Secret.

Delicate, full of rose petals and pieces of Morello cherries the first and refreshing and thirst quenching the Moroccan Secret, a Chinese green gunpowder tea full of mint leaves.

Last, but not least, we have the Babingtons Summer Fruit, a caffeine-free tisane, full of fruit and perfect for everyone, at any time of the day!

As we said, if you make your own iced tea at home you can be sure you will be drinking a healthy, 100% natural, refreshing summer drink. And it is very easy to prepare. Once it’s ready, if you don’t add fresh fruit immediately, you can keep the iced tea in the fridge for 3-4 days. When ready to serve, dress it as you prefer: slices of fresh fruits, herbs, spices, berries and if you must (we suggest not to) sugar. Liquid sugar if possible!

How to make liquid sugar? Easy!

Easy!

Put the same amount of sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. As soon as the sugar has melted completely, turn the gas off (otherwise it will turn to caramel!) and leave to cool. You can store the liquid sugar in a container for days….